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Towards a Poetics of Virtual Worlds Multi-User Textuality and the Emergence of Story

IT University of Copenhagen, June 20th, 2003

Lisbeth Klastrup

Ph.D. defense

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Agenda

Why this project?A new approachObjectivesWhat is a Poetics?The ResearchFindingsFurther Research

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I. Why this project?

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We all build worlds of fiction

Understanding Interactive Fictions

General interest: How do we experience and ”read” new media fictions such as interactive narratives or games?

My previous research: Single-user interactive works of fiction

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Cyberspace can be seen as an extension, some might say an inevitable extension, of our age old capacity and need to dwell in fiction

Benedikt (1991): Cyberspace – First Steps

Interactive Fictions Online – a mindboggling experience

Interactive fictional universes in a networked version

Which allows you to move around inside the fictional world

And are inhabited by several users at the same time

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What is a virtual world exactly?Computer-mediatedNetworked Multi-user environmentSpatially navigable InhabitablePersistent Large enough to encourage exploration & feed imagination

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What does a virtual world look like?

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An example of an early virtual world

MozartMUD, estab. 1990

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Early graphical world

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An example of a newer virtual world

Cybertown, estab. 1999

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EverQuestPlanes of Power trailer

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EverQuest: - from my point of view

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EverQuest: - from my point of view II

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II. A New Approach

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Previous research in the fieldLack of literature which surveys the entire field

Existing literature consist mostly of articles or anthologies

The monographies known presents mainly one theoretical perspective or examine only one or very few worlds

Either from the designer’s, system developer or the researcher’s perspective

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My research intended to…Present a (first) overview of the field in

monographic formPresent different perspectives on the field

in order to capture its complexityDevelop the ”textual” perspective on

the field (expanding Aarseth, Ryan etc)Allow for comparative studies of worldsGround itself in actual empirical studies

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Concrete objectives

1.

To outline a precise and exclusive description of what a virtual world is

and following, to relate the properties of the virtual worlds to the properties of the internet as a medium of presentation

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Concrete objectives

2.

To trace and describe the history of virtual worlds and the emergence of various genres of worlds

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Concrete objectives

3.

To identify the specific theoretical perspectives needed to provide a full understanding of the phenomenon

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4.

To outline a basic analytical framework with which to approach the study of worlds in existence

Concrete objectives

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5.

To refine the analytical framework through empirical studies of a number of worlds

- from both the player’s and designer’s perspective

Concrete objectives

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The End Goal

Outlining a Poetics”Poetics” however not as prescriptive dramaturgical guidelines (such as those put forward by Aristoteles), but reflected description and analysis of some of the ”nature, forms and laws” of virtual worlds in general, following f.i. Todorov:

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…poetics: what it studies is not poetry or literature but ”poeticity” or ”literariness”. The individul work is not an ultimate goal for poetics; if it pauses over one work rather than another, it is because such a work reveals more distincly the properties of literary discourse. Poetics will have to study not the already existing literary forms but, starting from them, a sum of possible forms: what literature can be rather than what it is.

(Tzvetan Todorov: The Poetics of Prose, 1971)

Poetics

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The End Goal

Introducing a poetics which explains the relation between the virtual world as a discoursive system and the experience of it

pinpointing what exactly makes virtual worlds ”worldlike”, i.e. attempts to define what creates the experience of ”worldness”.

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III.The Research

Research methodology outlining an interdisciplinary framework …applied in attempt to describe

- structural properties of world systems- phenomenological experience

focusing on the elements which create events and produce “meaning”

as such influenced by literary theory tradition of “analysing texts”, however with shift from studying a concrete text to the study of a system which produces text.

Research methodology

! NOT text as world but world as “text”

Methodology/ Interdisciplinary framework

”Cybersociology” (studies of social spaces online, virtual communities)

Computer Game Research (game systems, exploration of space, ”fun”)

Cybertext theory & digital literature theory (cybertextuality & interactive narratives)

these disciplines all address ”interaction” and ”world” from different perspectives

Cons

Interdisciplinarity leads to superficial application of important concepts, disregarding their disciplinary history

“Collage” approach disables in-depth studies and/or collapses clear-cut argument

Methodological pros/cons

Methodological pros/cons IIPros

Avoids appropriating virtual worlds as ”just one thing” (Games, Narratives etc)

Focus on world experience emphasises the user’s perspective (”reading”, ”gaming”), avoiding too focused abstract theory not applicable to concrete experience and analysis

Providing several entryways to the field

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Some main pointsWhen studying virtual worlds, we need to look at two main forms of interaction:

interaction between users (social interaction)

interaction between user(s) and world (game or “text” world interaction)

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More main points

Operationalising the concept of interactionWho can interact? (Agents)How can they interact? (Interaction forms)What is the scope of interaction (Surface/Fabric)How does the he implementation of interaction-in-

time (cause and effect of choices) work?

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Event = agent + interaction formPlayers (the human users - dynamic objects)

NPCs or "informative" objects (the non-human players, moving targets or information holders - these might be both static or dynamic objects depending on whether the world is one in which the player gets to program objects or not)

Objects (objects which can be manipulated and moved, these might also be static or dynamic like the other form of objects above)

World Rules (the "voice" of the programme which determines the limit of action of the human player, i.e. the game rules which deter-mines the consequences of a player's actions and potentially initiates events as reaction to these.)

Manipulation, which is the form of interaction, which consists of moving and combining objects.

Social interaction, which is the form of interaction, which consists of communication and play with non-verbal and verbal cues and languages, i.e. both linguistic and paralinguistic interaction

Information retrieval, which is the form of interaction which consists of providing information, obtaining or storing it

Navigation, which is the form of interaction that consists of moving through the world by moving your avatar (your "physical" representation in the world) from place to place in the world.

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Collective PerspectivesINSIDE THE WORLDInterpretative framework (genre etc)Playground (performers)Game System (players)Social world (humans, chars)-------------------------------------OUTSIDE THE WORLDSoftwareLegends (of this and other vws)Manuals & guides

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Concrete events generated through combination of inter-action forms & agents

World as phenomenological experience

Emergence of ”lived stories”,the sum of interaction-in-time

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Empirical studies

Return to Krondor (single-player rpg)Modus Operandi (multi-player ”detective” game)Scherazade’s Daughters (interactive theatre piece)StoryMOO – House of Mystery (own design)EverQuest (massive multiplayer world)

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Dressingroom

Livingroom

Corpse

Bathroom

Mother-bot

Kitchen

Cook-bot

Dad's office

Will 1 Will 2

Nigel's room

Bedroom

Susan's room

Locked room

Key to LR

OOC-room

Landing

Photo/secret msg

* starting point

Online Murder Mystery Game

Cast• Susan

• Nigel

• Ernest

• Julie

• John

• (Maggie)

• (Policeman)

Players:NigelSusanJohnMaggieErnest/MichaelBurnseyDetective II

The StoryMOO House of Mystery

Goals of staging the mysteryHow can you motivate people to interact with each other in ”directed” way?

How can you use the ”space of the world” in this kind of plot/setting?

Will each play turn out differently? And will people be able to identify the murderer?

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Julie says, "But Susan!"Julie looks terrified at the corpse!Ernest removes Scrap of paper from Corpse.Julie says, "he is rather corpulent, your father"Julie says, "or he was."Susan says, "My father is dead - it is horrible!!"John says, "examine corpse"Julie says, "what does the scrap say, ernest?"Ernest says, "he's got a draft for a will on him!"Julie says, "a will!"John says, "what does the will say"Julie [to Ernest]: can you read it to us?

Ernest says, ""but only half - the real text is missing""

Julie thanks ernest

Ernest says, ""Julie, what do you mean?""Susan says, "The man is just dead, show some respect"Susan says, "He is still warm and you are already dividing his belongings"

Julie reads from the scrap of paper: "Scrap of paperA piece of paper, with a phonenumber on it. It's apparently torn from a draft of a kind: on the other

side of it you can just discern the words: Will of .... Julie says, "But I can't see the phonenumber properly"

Julie drops Scrap of paper.Ernest says, ""calm down everybody". Are we sure he didn't die a natural death?""

The scene in the MOO, the participants are looking at

1. performance1. performance

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Nigel [to John]: so what does the will say?Susan leaves for KitchenJohn says, "Something that looks like a name and phonenumber"Nigel [to Ernest]: how should I know?Ernest leaves for the kitchen to find something for SusanErnest leaves for KitchenNigel [to John]: the name of whom?John says, "On the other side it says 14 november. 2000 Will of ..""John says, "I cant read the name"Nigel [to John]: and...?John says, "And neither the phonenumber"Nigel [to John]: can't or WON'T?John says, "CAN - by the way I have no advantages from a will of his"Nigel [to John]: and you think, I had? I was deleted from the will, you remember?

s2. performance

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What a performance should not look like on screen (at least not all the time):

Ernest leaves for HallwayWizard Armilla snaps her fingers and disappears.John arrives from Dad's OfficeSusan arrives from Dad's OfficeSusan leaves for BathroomJohn leaves for Dad's OfficeJohn arrives from Dad's OfficeJohn leaves for HallwayNigel arrives from KitchenNigel leaves for OOC-roomNigel arrives from OOC-roomNigel leaves for HallwaySusan arrives from BathroomSusan leaves for Hallway

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The EverQuest study what does ”life” in this kind of

world feel like for a player? how are different forms of

interaction used in the world? how is the experience of ”story”

produced?

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Milagros’ Quest for Trousers

Before After

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IV. Findings

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What does ”world” imply?A virtual world is at one and the same time

a text-producing systema ”physical” environmenta social space a game system

And as a player you engage with all these functions

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Levels of experience

1. Getting to know the world2. Interacting with the world3. Experiencing the world being

“revirtualised”4. Living the world – producing stories

Life in a virtual (game) world unfolds in several stages:

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The experience of Worldnessis related to the feelings of immersion (belief in its reality), presence (”being there”) and engagement (social commitment, ”addiction”) in the world. These feelings are produced through the process of interacting in time and influenced by all the forces at work in the world. – and they are the result of your experiences as both a character/characters and player in the world

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The Emergence of Stories Players Do Like Stories! However you cannot expect to be able to implement or

find “narratives” in a virtual world. Instead you have emerging stories.

As a designer you should strive to make an architecture of interaction which can generate interesting events

Which retrospectively to their enactment can be told (=have tellable value) and made into stories communicated from one player to other players

“Tellable” events are rare or unexpected happenings and/or you have to work hard to be allowed to be a part of them

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Designing for virtual worlds

1. Find a balance between encouraging people to explore the world and making them socialise in the right places (!) or for instance by traveling together

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Designing for virtual worlds2. Try to find ways to make players keep ”in tune” with the world they are in (respecting the fictional framework, the current scene etc).But don’t be too discouraged if it does not happen because being able to ”break the frame” and stepping outside the fiction (together) is part of the fun of playing.

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Designing for virtual worlds3. Think in terms of ”object-oriented”story production, use the objects surrounding the players.

And don’t be afraid to use the possibilities of the system or the properties of the computer to your advantage. Even if some unrealistic”intervention” is needed (by system or gamemaster), it is nevertheless accepted if it increases the fun!

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Next stepsMore empirical studies Examining one function or significant recurring event

across worlds (such as death) Following the success or failure of new

genres of worlds (first person shooter worlds, entertainment worlds etc)

Becoming member of a guild in EverQuest!

Refining concepts

The EndAbstract available at

http://www.itu.dk/people/klastrup

The entire thesis will be available on request in printable form ultimo july

+ slides available on request too

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Some main points II

Interactivity: general property

Measure of a medium’s ability to let the user exert an influence on the content or form of the mediated

environment in real tim

Interaction: ”functions”, the use of which leads to action and events